Raptor of the Cooper’s Variety

While at the Ridgefield NWR, Nov. 7, 2014, I was slowly driving the auto route and approached the area by the Kiwa Trail entrance. Three or four cars were stopped just prior to the large boulder by the road with the plaque on it. At first, I didn’t know what they were all interested in but I then saw a small hawk perched right on top of the boulder–about 3 feet off the ground (later ID’d as an immature Cooper’s Hawk). At this point, I was a good hundred feet away when I saw the hawk fly to the grass not far from the boulder. While it was there, another car drove up and was blocked from going through by one of the other cars. So the guy that just arrived started sounding his horn! This prompted the car in front of him to move and that flushed the hawk, which flew to the top of a nearby tree. I drove over there and took this shot. I’ve seen a few Cooper’s and have a couple real bad images of them, but this is my best look yet, even if it is up high! How I wish I could have gotten the bird on that boulder. Canon 5D Mark III, 1/1250, f4, ISO 1250, 500mm, 10:24 a.m.